This probably has been covered before, but I can't seem to find it: What would be best commercial coal product(s) to represent the coal as would have come out of an Eastern Montana mine? I have decided to build the loads for my Thrall cars as commercial loads for the quantity of cars that I have would be rather expensive for my budget.
As usual, any help that can provided would be most welcomed.
Hello All,
Check out Conway Coal.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
jjdamnit Hello All, Check out Conway Coal. Hope this helps.
Unfortunately, looking at that site, the type of coal is incorrect for Eastern Montana coal.
Just to clarify, I was more looking at size of pieces than kind.
I assume you are looking for something other than mine run coal; i.e. coal that has been crushed and screened to size?
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Probably more info than you really need.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_preparation_plant
Could also depend on if it is hard coal or soft coal. Suspect it is soft coal. I think hard coal was mostly in PA.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
davidmbedardCoal is in different sizes depending on use.
G Paine I assume you are looking for something other than mine run coal; i.e. coal that has been crushed and screened to size?
Given the coal (subbituminous) mined in the area I am modeling was and is used in coal-fired power plants (low-sulfur), I figure that it would have been screened and crushed as discussed. I just don't know the best size and manufacturer to use to represent this.
Much of the coal I've seen in Pennsylvania and Ohio, destined for power plants, seems pretty small. I was privileged to get a cab ride on a coal train being loaded, but wasn't close enough to make out the size of the coal:
Here's a passing coal train. As you can see, the speed of the train and the wind can make this a pretty dirty experience:
If I were guessing, I'd say the coal is under 1" in size, but I'll contact a friend who can give me a more accurate number, and add it here.
Wayne
As I recall, coal that has been processed, at least in the modern era, is a little smaller than the average man's fist... The era you're modeling might make a difference in the size, though.
tinplatacis As I recall, coal that has been processed, at least in the modern era, is a little smaller than the average man's fist...
As I recall, coal that has been processed, at least in the modern era, is a little smaller than the average man's fist...
I don't know if my fist is average or not, but using that figure, I come up with 3 1/2 to 4" pieces.
tinplatacis The era you're modeling might make a difference in the size, though.
The era you're modeling might make a difference in the size, though.
I model to mid 70s to early 80s - mainly the ACI era.
I recently bought some "egg coal" from Highball Products which is HO scale 2" to 5" for a project I am working on. It is somewhat shiney and black; your sub-bituminous coal may be called brown coal.
Have you seen a sample of the real stuff? Maybe ask Broadway Lion, he lives in North Dakota
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/330-131
The coal shipped for power plants, at least in Pennsylvania and Ohio, is about one step bigger than dust. You could probably get away with using a block of wood or foam painted black. It's somewhat heaped when being loaded, but mostly seems to settle pretty flat, and, as seen in my earlier photo, some of it just blows away.
There's some more info on coal for power plants here:
power_station#Fuel_transport_and_delivery
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Given that I am a little rusty on coal definitions, (it has been many years since any Geology classes) I decided to do a quick wiki check. This is what I come up with from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-bituminous_coal:
Sub-bituminous coals may be dull, dark brown to black, soft and crumbly at the lower end of the range, to bright jet-black, hard, and relatively strong at the upper end. They contain 15-30% inherent moisture by weight and are non-coking (undergo little swelling upon heating).[1] The heat content of sub-bituminous coals range from 8300 to 11,500 BTu/lb or 19,306 to 26,749 kJ/kg. Their relatively low density and high water content renders some types of sub-bituminous coals susceptible to spontaneous combustion if not packed densely during storage in order to exclude free air flow.
(I did edit out a few of the hyperlinks that the wiki page had for clarity purposes. I also added the underline for emphasis.)
By that definition, I think I could seemingly get away with most any commercial coal to make the loads.
For future reference I gather that in recent terms -stove coal 2” to 3” I “make” my coal loads from local river sand, and if I was to take a semi informed guess for your modelled era, I would make two shakers, the first with .023” holes (2 inches, 1:1) and the second with .035” holes (3 inches, 1:1) and use the results from both sieving.
I “make” my coal loads from local river sand, and if I was to take a semi informed guess for your modelled era, I would make two shakers, the first with .023” holes (2 inches, 1:1) and the second with .035” holes (3 inches, 1:1) and use the results from both sieving.
By those points, I probably need to use stove coal to build those loads.